Whether we realize it or not, we all teach. Be it our children, our friends and acquaintances, co-workers or just people we meet in our day to day dealings, in some manner or another, we teach them.

But, that does not make us “teachers,” those who have chosen to enter the profession to impart knowledge in any one of our schools where we must send our children to learn reading, writing, arithmetic, history and other relevant subjects in hopes that when they grow up, they will have the knowledge to become functional adults ready to contribute to society, raise families of their own and pass along their own teaching with who they interact with.

Teaching sounds like a very lofty and important profession, which it is. But, does that make being a teacher any more special or privileged than other professions we enter into? Does that make them exempt from the day to day struggles and budgeting we must perform in order to care for our families, especially in these difficult economic times we have seen over the past years?

It would appear that Jim Moeller, Democrat so-called Representative of Washington State’s 49th Legislative District still tries to hide in a self imposed closet. No, I don’t mean his homosexuality, he’s very open about that and in fact, wears it like a badge of honor on his left sleeve.

I’m talking about his disdain for constituents, especially any who do not immediately jump up to agree with his communist positions and even more so, his advocacy for Portland, Oregon over the district he has been reelected to represent 5 times now.

That my fellow 49ers remain so blind to Jim Moeller’s advocacy for Portland over the well-being of the 49th Legislative District is astonishing to me. What will it take for these people to ever open their eyes?

Moeller has shown himself to be a real enemy to the middle class families of Washington State by advocating higher taxes, higher fees and higher costs all to be piled on the backs of the struggling middle class families.

The latest effort to impose dictatorial control over the American people comes from Democrat Senate Leader out of Nevada, Harry Reid as he lends his voice to those from last year in calling on Obama to simply bypass congress and raise the nation’s debt as he sees fit, claiming he is granted that authority under the 14th amendment, passed shortly after the Civil War.

One of three ‘Reconstruction Amendments,’ the 14th is comprised of 5 sections primarily stating freed slaves were citizens of America with the full legal rights of any other citizen in the first three section and the 4th section basically laying out that the U.S. was not responsible for nor would pay any debts incurred by the Confederacy during the war.

Section 5 grants congress the power to enforce the amendment.

Section 4 is where Democrats now claim to have the authority for Obama to bypass congress on raising our public debt, claiming it says, “the validity of the public debt of the United States…shall not be questioned.”

Time and again voters have let it be known that extending Portland, Oregon’s financially troubled light rail into Clark County and rebuilding Fourth Plain Boulevard to accommodate a Bus Rapid Transit feed to that proposed light rail line is out of the question. We do not want it!

Time and again C-TRAN, the Columbia River Crossing project and certain leaders within the community have shown that they do not care what voters say, they are going to build it with voters and taxpayers paying for it, come hell or high water, no matter what.

Totally corrupting the democratic process is of no concern to those proponents. Like a small child wanting a piece of candy in a grocery store, their attitude is just ‘take what you want now,’ any way you can get it.

The recent defeat of Proposition 1, to fund operations and maintenance of the light rail extension we have been repeatedly denied a vote on was thought to be a blow to C-TRAN’s efforts at empire building. But we see again that our vote denying them another tax increase to fund their dream is little more than a bump in the road to them.

The election is over and once again, voters have chosen to keep the State of Washington under the grip of the tax & spend Progressive Democrats, apparently not the least bit concerned over their own financial situation of falsely believing someone else will just walk outside and harvest money off of their money tree to fund whatever dream those tax & spend Progressives come up with, unable to live within their means.

Two areas that have been contentious are transportation and education, neither ever having adequate funding for whatever is dreamt up or claimed needed by proponents.

Just today I received an email from the Washington State Transportation Commission for a survey addressing “Tolling and Road Usage Charge Assessment Study,” to weigh the public’s opinion on just where more tax revenue should be raised.

The enlightened people in the states of Washington and Colorado pushed through their measures to legalize marijuana smoking in the last election, many euphoric over the electoral win and believing their choice of drug, once legalized, will be broadly accepted and they will no longer face consequences for smoking a joint when they so choose.

Since marijuana use is sill illegal under federal law, the question left unanswered for the time being is what will the feds do in the two states, now that they have decided to not follow federal law?

As of this posting, there is only speculation on what the feds may or may not do.

The states have one year to work our regulations concerning the use of marijuana, such detection standards if caught driving under the influence as well as standards to be used should such a case draw a user a citation and they appear in court.

Patty Murray, the so-called senior Washington State Senator has long advocated for the Columbia River Crossing and forcing Clark County to accept Portland, Oregon’s financially ailing light rail, even though Clark County voters have voted it down in every ballot measure perceived to support it.

But that doesn’t stop dictatorial Democrats like Patty Murray, even though she is clueless about what goes on in Clark County since we never see her unless she is up for reelection or seeking donations to retain her in the cushioned seat of authority she has gotten accustomed to.

In spite of the apparent corruption surrounding the CRC, having sucked up over $160 Million in planning and can’t even design a bridge with enough clearance to meet U.S. Coast Guard specifications for river traffic clearance, she lends her voice to Oregon’s Governor in the call for “damn the voters, full speed ahead” with the project.

Ruth Bader Ginsberg was right just days ago when she said the Supreme Court’s decision on Obamacare would come as a big surprise to many people. Today’s announcement that the government is free to mandate private citizens purchase health insurance or be fined by the government totally shocked well over half of the American people who have consistently called for this ‘Obamanation’ to be repealed.

Even more surprising was seeing that Chief Justice John Roberts was the swing vote in the 5 to 4 decision that just handed the government total power to just mandate whatever they desire the people to do and we must comply? Isn’t that something more along the lines of Cuba, Venezuela or the former Soviet Union?

Most telling in the decision is Justice Roberts reasoning he wrote in the majority decision of the “individual mandate requiring people to have health insurance is valid as a tax, even though it is impermissible under the Constitution’s commerce clause.”

Yes, requiring us to buy health insurance is unconstitutional, but since it is a tax, it is now constitutional to tax us if we do not comply and buy health insurance.

The 1930 Laurel & Hardy film, “Another Fine Mess” contains a funny scene where Oliver Hardy, posing as the Lord of the Manor of a mansion they have entered illegally calls to a slightly tipsy Stan Laurel, dressed in drag as the manor’s maid and says to Stan, “Call me a cab.” Stan looks him square in the eye and says, “Okay, you’re a cab.”

One of many funny moments in the film, but also shows how we have long taken for granted that if we need transportation somewhere, we just pick up the phone, call the local Taxi Cab company and very soon, a Taxi is waiting at our door to take us where requested for a small fee.

Those days are in danger of ending soon, if some in our city and the bully to our south, Portland, Oregon get their way. On June 19, 2012 I was copied the following email to some of our elected officials,

In what can only be equated to Hitler’s Reichstag Fire in 1933, where Hitler had the German Parliament building set on fire and made to appear as if the Communist opposition party was responsible, Moveon.org is now boasting of an “Award-Winning” video produced to defeat Tea Party members over a tax increase they title “Book Burning Party.”

That is was actually Moveon.org and leftists who burned books seem to slip right passed many as the ends justify the means in their nothing is off limits attitudes.

That it is a total lie also slides right passed them, just as Hitler’s many antics early on slide right passed an unsuspecting German citizenry until it was too late to stop him.

Anyone who has served in the U.S. Army in days past heard the command, “smoke ‘em if you got ‘em” numerous times. It was acknowledgement from Squad Leaders or Platoon Sergeants that it was time for a break, take a rest from whatever the Troops were doing and if you were a smoker, like most were way back when, enjoy a smoke.

I don’t know whether or not the Army still uses the phrase, but the phrase and smoking of a cigarette or cigar is definitely out of favor around the country, given that we now know the dangers of tobacco use.

We saw it not too long ago as the Vancouver, Washington city council unanimously approved a smoking ban in all city parks, after chasing smokers out of nearly every building in existence in the state when Initiative 901 passed in 2005.

In the meantime, taxes were added to a pack of cigarettes amounting to $3.025 a pack, placing Washington State in the top 5 states for high tobacco taxes.

The taxes were sold as needed to fund certain health programs, predominately “for the children” and to encourage smokers to quit smoking, which means the state would receive less revenue “for the children.” Currently, the state is looking into adding the same exorbitant taxes on “roll your own” cigarettes.

It’s apparent the act of lighting up and smoking, even outdoors now is strongly frowned upon while the revenue from their sale is looked for.

I don’t know of anybody that questions the harmful effects of tobacco use, but these bans are not directed at forcing smokers to quit. No, they are intended to protect non-smokers from the evils of “second-hand smoke” which much like global warming, the anti-smoking crowd declares the “debate is over,” regardless of any evidence to the contrary.

Following Eric Florip’s tweets this evening for the C-Tran light rail operations & maintenance vote, Leavitt first tried to delay consideration of the vote at the outset of the meeting.

Once that move failed, after much discussion, commissioner Stuart moved for a district-wide vote, blocked by Vancouver City Council members as they stated they would do last evening at city council.

The latest from Eric says, “C-Tran board approves motion to look at other funding options for light rail, provided there’s still a public vote in November.”

The Columbian states it will be a district wide vote, but will Leavitt succeed in a gerrymandered sub-district as he wants before November?

Leavitt is selling this as a way to avoid taxpayers footing the bill for the boondoggle light rail we do not want. If you apply just a little thinking, there is no funding source available that does not originate with taxpayers.

I expect more stalling tactics by Leavitt and others representing the city council if they are able to continue to deny us the vote on light rail operations & maintenance. It is widely known that a vote would be referendum on light rail itself and any official indication that the project does not have the support of the public could jeopardize those precious federal tax dollars to help pay for the light rail we don’t want anyway.

Partial Tweets from Eric:

Eric Florip ‏ @col_enviro
#CTran board approves motion to look at other funding options for light rail, provided there’s still a public vote in November.

Andrea Damewood ‏ @col_cityhall
@col_enviro even the #VanWA council? Doesn’t this mean either way sales tax will b voted on this fall? #confused

The excessively high cost and expense of the Columbia River Crossing project is no secret. This blog, other Conservative blogs such as Clark County Politics, Couv.com and even the Columbian sometimes have spoken about it.

The Oregonian, Willamette Week and the Reflector in Clark County have lent their voices to the problems seen by citizens and some elected officials, to no avail. Any and all voices are written off as “designed to stop the project” of replacing the aging Interstate Bridges and dragging Portland’s financially ailing Light Rail into Clark County, even though 3 times in the past voters indicated in election we did not want it.

Even an independent forensic audit was soon shoved aside by WSDOT officials who seem to have no problem with millions of our tax dollars being unaccounted for in this project.

For some time now I have sensed that our legislators in Olympia don’t care too much for our constitutional right to citizen initiatives that is independent from the legislature and grants us the right to place limits upon their actions. It is written in our constitution,

“the people reserve to themselves the power to propose bills, laws, and to enact or reject the same at the polls, independent of the legislature, and also reserve power, at their own option, to approve or reject at the polls any act, item, section, or part of any bill, act, or law passed by the legislature. (Article II Section 1)”

We have seen several times now where unions and legislators, disagreeing with a citizen initiative voted in by large majorities of the voters end up challenged in court or cast aside by decree of the governor after a specified period.

We also see ourselves mired in this ongoing “Great Recession” with no end in sight and some citizen initiatives voted in that require funding that the legislators are unable to find funds for, given their propensity to spend tax dollars unwisely.

From her November 22, 2011 TownHall, Rep. Sharon Wylie (D. Wa. 49th) in reply to a question from an SEIU member, announces she will propose more taxes on a struggling middle class before laying off any state workers. Her claims of “Thinned the soup enough” fall flat with the recent revelation from Fact Check that many spending cuts were actually little more than reductions in proposed spending increases.

Taped August 4, 2011 on Jaime Herrera Beutler’s tele-townhall. Her reply to the question on whether or not federal funding is still available for the bridge project.

Of concern to me, the song & dance in regards to local matching funds. She mentions taxes, but we have also been hearing about tolls. While she calls for a county-wide vote, does she support or oppose Clark County residents coughing up more taxes or paying tolls in perpetuity to pay for a bridge and extending Light Rail into Clark County?

“We need to engage the community … and ultimately, we will need to talk to them about ways they can invest in their community,” said City Manager Eric Holmes.

The above quote, lifted from the January 2, 2011 Sunday Columbian article, A Peek Ahead Points to Issues of ’11 show me an almost total disconnect between city officials and taxpayers in Vancouver and Clark County.

“Invest” is nothing more than a catch word used to soften potential tax increases to be heaped on the backs of a community already struggling with the highest unemployment in the state, 13.1%

This particular “investment” is in regards to a proposal of Vancouver to form a “Transportation Benefit District that would increase car license fees in the city by $20,” supposedly to pay for road maintenance and repairs, on top of the taxes we already pay, through gasoline tax and property taxes, sales taxes and you name it.

Also, should we choose to use one of the several parks in the area, to relax or picnic, we read that we could also be facing paying yet another fee to enter.

April 15 is passing again and if you are like me, it hurt this year. With the increased taxes given us and passage of even more by our ruling party in Olympia, more money was taken out of me, even though my wages are down. I’m left feeling screwed.

Unemployment here in Clark County remains well over 14% and there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel, just more taxes coming at us and potentially more lay-offs and more bankruptcies. Democrats answer? Raise taxes, the exact opposite of what we really need to spur job growth and recover from this economic downward spiral we have been in for well over a year now.

Unable to agree on just how to stick it to us during regular session, Governor Gregoire ordered the legislature into special session where the arguing amongst Democrats over what to tax continued until they adjourned the session Monday night, April 12.

Particularly troubling to me was seeing not only so many new taxes, on candy & gum, bottled water, mass produced beer (leaving micro breweries beer that liberals and the wealthy often consume alone), a 20% increase in the Business and Occupation tax, but as Senator Joe Zarelli said, the majority Democrats

“included some familiar majority accounting gimmicks, such as sweeping $461 million from accounts intended for environmental cleanup, public works projects and other specific activities into the general fund and drained the $229 million remaining in the rainy-day.”

Saddest was seeing a handful of Republicans in the House join with Democrats in draining what was left in the rainy day fund that included 18th District Representative Jaime Herrera, who was taken to task for her vote on the Victoria Taft program in March.

Ed Orcutt, also from the 18th, released a statement addressing the session that included,

“This is an $800 million-a-year financial hit that our families, our employers and our economy cannot afford. If Democrat budget writers had put half as much effort into balancing the budget through true government reforms and efficiencies as they put into arguing with each other over which taxes to raise, we’d have a balanced budget, no tax increases and no special session.

Instead of spending 30 days sharpening our pencils, applying the priorities of government process and implementing meaningful government reforms, budget writers from the majority party haggled over who would be the ‘winners and losers’ while resorting to tax increases.

This is a sad day for struggling families and employers. This tax increase represents the largest tax increase in state history and it will have a negative impact on our chances for economic recovery.”

“It’s unconscionable to dump 1.7 billion dollars in new taxes on the people of Washington during the worst recession since the Great Depression. With hundreds of thousands of people out of work already, this will hit the economy like an earthquake. The 20 percent increase in the business and occupation tax on service businesses, which is about 80 percent of Washington’s small businesses, will put more people out of work. This is flat-out wrong. We have already lost more than 190,000 jobs.”

Benton also said that not one of the 55 reform ideas put forth by Republicans over the past 5 years has even been considered.

While we are told of harsh cuts by the governor just last year, left unexplained is how spending increased with those harsh cuts until we realize that to a Democrat, a “cut” is actually a reduction in the amount of expected increase.

We would never get away with balancing our own checkbooks in such a manner or paying our bills. If we tried we would see our homes in foreclosure.

For this massive screwing we just received, Governor Gregoire says,

“the budget passed by lawmakers is ‘fair and reasonable’ and will not significantly impact the average Washington family or penalize local businesses.”

With our ever increasing unemployment, I fail to see anything “fair” or “reasonable” in this continued raping of Washington State and Clark County citizens. All I see is more troubles ahead as once again the problem is just kicked downstream to await the next legislature.

Listening to Senator Lisa Brown and her anticipations, we can once again expect to see a proposal to change our constitution to hit us with an income tax that will offer a reduction in the sales tax of a minor amount.

We cannot continue in such a manner and thrive. Taxes must be returned to a reasonable rate and state spending must be critically scrutinized across the board. Pie in the sky spending sprees in hopes of temporary jobs for some will not pull us out of this severe slump.

Relying on receipt of federal money is equally as ludicrous. It may not come, might not be enough and where does it come from in the first place? You and I. It was our money first before taken by income taxes.

Adding taxes on every item imaginable in hopes of closing loopholes is self defeating as time and again it has been shown doing so results in less consumption of those products. Less consumption means less revenue collected. It’s that simple.

The Democrat majority that controls our state legislature continues to show us they have no idea of what to do. They just argue back and forth about what to tax next and by how much. Then, regardless of how much worse it becomes, they tell us what a great deal we are getting and how “fair and reasonable” it is.

It is time we took control of the state back and initiated a new approach. As we see, Democrats continue in that status quo they blame on others and their “hope and change” is in reality just more of the same borrow, tax and spend we have seen for years.

There is no fiscal responsibility or true leadership, just more of the same. Surely, of those 55 reform proposals put forth by Republicans over the past 5 years, some should have been considered.

It is time to give someone else a chance and that someone else is in the form of candidates offered by the Republican Party.

Several Republican candidates are hoping to gain your trust and are offering true reform and ideas for creating jobs and prosperity in Washington State.

Even those Democrats such as Tim Probst, who campaigned on opposing tax increases and has voted against obvious tax increases, knowing there is a large enough Democrat majority for it to pass anyways, are suspect and deserve scrutiny.

Did Probst support any of the Republican proposals or amendments to reduce taxes? Did any of his votes actually help with bills that gave us backdoor tax increases?

Jim Moeller and Jim Jacks of the 49th are as tax happy as any Democrat I have seen.

Deb Wallace is stepping down but what of the Democrat candidates vying to take over the seat she occupied? Will they support bi-partisan measures to regrow the economy? Or will they just follow along lock-step with other Democrats in raping the blue collar workers in the state?

Do we even want to vote them in and see? Not me, I’d much rather see a party with a different philosophy in the majority and implementing a different approach. I’d rather see the governor in her final two years in office, barring a recall effort, not have the rubber stamp of her party that she currently enjoys.

It’s time for real hope and change and that will only come from new leadership. Leadership that actually has people in mind, not special interests or pet entitlement programs to those who shouldn’t be entitled.